AVROTROS, the national broadcaster representing the Netherlands at Eurovision, has joined other broadcasters in threatening to withdraw from the Contest if Israel participates next year. In a press release, the broadcaster states that its participation “will not be possible as long as Israel is admitted by the EBU“ and justifies its decision.
A decision linked to the values of public broadcasting
The full press statement of AVROTROS goes as follows:
AVROTROS LINKS EUROVISION 2026 PARTICIPATION TO CORE VALUES
AVROTROS, 12 september 2025
Human suffering, the suppression of press freedom and political interference are at odds with the values of public broadcasting.
In recent months, AVROTROS has engaged in regular consultations with the EBU and other European public broadcasters regarding the future and nature of the Eurovision Song Contest. These discussions have also given extensive consideration to whether Israel can be represented under the current circumstances.
The Eurovision Song Contest was founded in 1956 to bring people together after a period of deep division and war. Since its inception seventy years ago, music has been at the heart of the Contest as a unifying force, with peace, equality, and respect as its core values.
AVROTROS can no longer justify Israel’s participation in the current situation, given the ongoing and severe human suffering in Gaza. The broadcaster also expresses deep concern about the serious erosion of press freedom: the deliberate exclusion of independent international reporting and the many casualties among journalists. In addition, there is proven evidence of interference by the Israeli government during the most recent edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, in which the event was used as a political instrument. This runs counter to the apolitical nature of the Contest. These circumstances are incompatible with the values represented by AVROTROS as a public broadcaster.
The broadcaster has therefore decided that participation by AVROTROS in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will not be possible as long as Israel is admitted by the EBU. Should the EBU decide not to admit Israel, AVROTROS will gladly take part next year. Pending that decision, all preparations will for the time being continue as planned.
Like other broadcasters, AVROTROS mentions the current consultations and discussions held between the EBU and its members regarding the future of the Contest. These conversations arose after a number of public complaints from broadcasters in the aftermath of the 2025 Contest, mainly about the voting system and the presence of Israel in the contest.
AVROTROS explains its decision on the basis of three elements:
- the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza
- the “serious erosion of press freedom” in Israel and Gaza, mentioning the exclusion of independant international reporters and the “many casualties among journalists”
- and finally, the “proven evidence of interference” from the Israeli Government in Eurovision 2025, which was brought to light by the EBU fact-checking unit
While the first reason is “outside” the realm of the EBU and contest (with several countries having taken part despite being at the centre of humanitarian crisis, of varying levels of gravity), the second one is very much linked to the mission of the EBU as a promoter of journalistic integrity and public service values, and the third one directly states that Israel is not playing by the rules of the Contest itself.
With these three levels of justification, AVROTROS confirms that they will not take part if Israel does, and considers this to be the “default” position : “participation will not be possible, as long as Israel is admitted by the EBU.“, are thus putting pressure on the EBU to exclude Israel (from the Contest, at least, if not from the organisation itself). The reference to public service and public broadcasting values, present in the title and throughout the statement, also pushes the EBU to act, as it remains a union of public broadcasters defending the values of Public Service Media.
Up to five countries ready to withdraw
Other broadcasters have been vocal on the topic of Israel’s participation, to various degrees.
In Slovenia, RTV SLO has stated that they will not go either if Israel takes part, with Director Ksenija Horvat believing that Slovenia “will not be able to go to the Eurovision Song Contest”, implying that she believed the Middle Eastern country would participate anyway.
Yesterday, Ireland‘s broadcaster RTÉ has stated that they will not take part either “if the participation of Israel goes ahead”.
In Iceland, broadcaster RÚV has been less clear but has stated that their decision regarding Eurovision participation will depend on the outcome of the discussions with the EBU. In an interview, Director General Stefán Eiríksson did not hide his serious doubts on whether changes would take place after these discussions.
As for Spain, while RTVE itself has not yet published any statement on a potential withdrawal, and has started to prepare for Benidorm Festival (which will be directed by Sergio Jaén, the acclaimed director of Ireland 2024 and Austria 2025), the Spanish Minister for Culture has said that Spain would withdraw from the competition if Israel takes part. Considering the independence of public broadcasting, it is not certain whether RTVE would follow up on this, but they have been among the most vocal broadcasters in the aftermath of the 2025 contest, asking for an audit of their televote.
The discussions mentioned by these broadcasters surround both Israel’s participation and the voting processes, which have been criticized by these five, along with others such as VRT from Belgium, NRK from Norway, or YLE from Finland.
If Israel takes part and all five do withdraw, the contest would take part with 32 or 33 participants (depending on Moldova’s return), which would be the lowest number since the introduction of a semi-final, in 2004, when 34 countries took part.
Do you agree with AVROTROS? Should The Netherlands withdraw if Israel takes part? If you’re from neither country, would you want your country to withdraw in such a situation? Let us know!
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